The story goes that right after World War 2, some crazy Germans decided to craft a one-of-a-kind racecar built around a BMW V12 engine made for airplanes: a 1925 46.0-liter 12-cylinder unit, to be precise. There was no a shortage of these kind of engines in that era, since Germany wasn’t allowed to own any military aircrafts.

They had a problem however: the engine tipped the scales at 510 kg (1,124 lbs) and was huge measuring 1.8 meters long, 1.1 meters tall and 0.87 meters wide. Finding a proper chassis was difficult, but they managed to get hold of a 1908 American LaFrance car that could withstand the weight of the beast. It took the builders several years to complete the car, which was manufactured in a workshop belonging to the Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim and was given the name Brutus.

According to the museum, the engine puts out 500 horsepower at 1,500 rpm, while other sources claim 750 hp at 1,700 rpm (for only one minute). Its fuel consumption is 1 liter/km (2.35 mpg), hence the huge fuel tank, and the car is said to comfortably cruise at speeds of over 100 km/h (62 mph) at just 800 rpm.

The BMW Brutus is owned by the Sinsheim Museum in Germany where it can be seen today. Since it’s hard to find accurate data about the Brutus, we’d appreciate it if any of you happen to know more about the car, dropped us a comment below.